Multifunction table

ABSTRACT

A multifunction table which has a base and a table top having a flush surface. The table top is attached to the base. The table top has individual flush mounted fast acting controllers, and a graphical display screen mounted below the flush surface and controlled by the flush mounted fast acting controllers. This multifunctional table can have a rechargeable battery operated power source, where a recharging device is located within the base of said table. Additionally the multifunctional table has a computer integrated into the base. The computer is networkable and the network can be wireless. This table also has a means accepting payment where said means for accepting payment is selected from the group consisting of: bill acceptors, coin acceptors, token acceptors, credit card acceptors, debit card acceptors and gift certificate acceptors.

REFERENCE TO RELATED CASES

This application claims the Priority of the Provisional Application Ser.No. 60/541,090 filed Feb. 2, 2004.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Owners of bars, restaurants, and other food service related businesses,typically sit their patrons together at tables placed at variouslocations within each establishment. These establishments can increasetheir revenues by providing fee-based video amusement or multiplayerelectronic gaming entertainment that is embedded within their tables forpatrons who wait for service or for their orders to arrive. In addition,these same tables are also capable of incorporating convenient graphicalbased ordering and payment systems. With a computer, monitor, billacceptor, and a magnetic card reader all built into the table, thesetypes of systems are possible.

With typical high power consuming electronic devices such as a computerand monitor built into a table, the table's placement within anestablishment becomes limited to locations that are permanentlypositioned against walls or otherwise near one of an establishment's ACpower receptacles. Furthermore, such a table is not normally moved in aneffort to join another table for accommodating a larger single group ofpatrons without disconnecting the table's power cord or using anextension cord. More often than not, such electronic tables are notmoved at all in order to prevent AC power cords or extension cords fromhaving to be stretched across a busy floor or undesirably upward towardsthe ceiling, as would be the case for a table with such electronicdevices onboard and its location placed out in open floor space awayfrom any wall or electrical outlet.

A more desirable type of table with an embedded computer, monitor, andother electronics should be such that no AC power cords are required tobe plugged into an electrical outlet during operating hours when patronsare generally present. Instead, all the electronics of the table can bepowered by a safe alternative power source such as one or more largedeep-cycle batteries that are attached to the table. The electronics mayrun in either AC mode with a power inverter or in direct DC mode usingDC compatible electronic devices. At the end of the business day, atable's on-board computer controlled charging unit can fully rechargethe table's batteries overnight.

Applicant is aware of the following U.S. patents and applicationsconcerning customer ordering systems and amusement table devices and thelike:

McKee, et al. U.S. Pat. No. 6,580,360 dated Jun. 17, 2003, entitledSmart Table. The McKee patent discloses a central processing systemwhich uses remote sensors to detect the presence of a restaurantcustomer.

Ragsdale-Elliot, et al U.S. Pat. No. 6,636,835 dated Oct. 21, 2003,entitled Wireless Maitre D' System for Restaurants. The Ragsdale-Elliotsystem utilizes a touch screen wireless communication kiosk devicesolely independent of the table for which it is mounted on. This type ofdevice utilizes tabletop area and can potentially be an obstruction. Asa standard touch screen device, this system is unable to allow fastsimultaneous multiplayer interaction on the same screen during gameplay.

Alex et al., U.S. patent application Publication No. US 2004/0193610 A1dated Sep. 30, 2004, entitled Digital Interactive Network Appliance andSystem. The Alex patent discloses a central processing system which isin communication with individual input devices located at differenttables throughout a restaurant. These input devices are capable oftaking orders and accepting payment for services as well as providingpaid for entertainment such as video games and audio and videoentertainment options.

Unlike the Instant Application these kiosks devices are either table topor wall mounted and not integral to the table, let alone flush mount.These kiosks must be powered by AC power source which reduces optionsfor table placement as it requires them to be located at position havingan electrical outlet.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A multifunction table which has a base and a table top having a flushsurface. The table top is attached to the base. The table top hasindividual flush mounted fast acting controllers, and a graphicaldisplay screen mounted below the flush surface and controlled by theflush mounted fast acting controllers. This multifunctional table canhave a rechargeable battery operated power source, where a rechargingdevice is located within the base of said table. Additionally themultifunctional table has a computer integrated into the base. Thecomputer is networkable and the network can be wireless. This table alsohas a means accepting payment where said means for accepting payment isselected from the group consisting of: bill acceptors, coin acceptors,token acceptors, credit card acceptors, debit card acceptors and giftcertificate acceptors.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing will become more readily apparent by referring to thefollowing detailed description and the appended drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a table with embedded electronics andmultiplayer game controls in accordance with the invention.

FIG. 2 is a semi-exploded perspective view of the table with thelocations of certain embedded electronic components shown.

FIG. 3 is an exploded assembly view of a fast-action game controllerthat remains flush with a table surface.

FIG. 4 is an aerial view of the table displaying the graphical menusystem with adjustable orientation for patrons sitting on all sides of atable.

FIG. 5 is diagram displaying the basics of a local wireless network intwo separate locations that are tied together by a wide area network viathe Internet.

FIG. 6 is diagram displaying the basics of the screen orientationprogram and user management system.

FIG. 7 is an aerial view of an alternate embodiment of the tabledisplaying multiple graphical display screens for each patron sitting onall sides of a table.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The invented multifunction table 10, FIG. 1, has a base 15 and a tabletop 20 where the table top has a flush surface. The table top isattached to the base. The shape of the tabletop 20 shown in FIG. 1 issquare, but any tabletop shape could be effectively utilized. The tabletop has individual flush mounted fast acting controllers 25. The fastacting controllers are defined as controllers capable of quicklyprocessing inputs sent to them. These controllers are distinguished fromtouch screen input devices, that while flush, they are incapable ofquickly processing input commands. A graphical display screen 30 isviewable from the table top. This graphical display screen 30 is eithermounted so that it is flush with the tabletop or the graphical displayscreen 30 mounted below the flush surface as shown in FIG. 2 and has atransparent protective cover 55 which is mounted flush with the tableand covers the graphical display screen 30. It has been found that athin framed liquid crystal display (LCD) works well for the graphicaldisplay screen, but the invention is not limited to this type ofdisplay. The invention will also work with the plasma monitor, or a DLPmonitor, though the LCD and plasma monitors offer advantage of beingthinner and more easily integrated into the table. In another embodimentof the invention a cathode ray tube CRT monitor may also be used as thegraphical display screen. If a CRT monitor is used it may be either aconventional or a flat screen monitor. The graphical display screen 30is controlled by the flush mounted fast acting controllers 25.

The multifunctional table 10, in another embodiment, has a rechargeablebattery operated power source 35, where the rechargeable batteryoperated power source 35 is located in the base 20 of the table. Anadvantage of having a rechargeable battery operated power source is thatwhen in operation the tables can be placed anywhere within theestablishment and are not bound to be located near a power outlet.Further it allows more flexibility in movement and grouping of thetables. While any type of battery can be used in this application it hasbeen found that an absorbed glass matt AGM lead acid battery works wellin this application. An advantage of using AGM cells is that thesebatteries do not leak, they are substantially dry, and they do notproduce dangerous levels of hydrogen gas during recharging. AGMbatteries are available in the United States under the brand namesOdyssey, Concord and Lifeline. An example of which is the Concord SunXTender battery. For this type of application multiple deep-cyclebatteries may be employed. Types of batteries that can be used otherthan lead acid batteries include but are not limited to lithiumrechargeable batteries, nickel cadmium NiCd batteries and nickel metalhydride NiMH batteries. The rechargeable battery operated power source35 can be recharged using an external recharging unit or, in anotherembodiment of the invention, a recharging device 40 is located withinthe base 20 of the table 10. When using the integrated recharging device40, a plug can be fitted to the charging receptacle 90. For either theexternal recharging device or the internal unit the use of a smartcharger, which can prevent overcharging of the battery provides addedflexibility in operation while reducing the need to mind the unit duringthe recharging cycle. While the battery and recharging unit can beplaced anywhere within the table, the batteries tend to be heavy andthere placement low in the base of the table, behind a removable ventpanel 85, which helps in the stability of the table overall.

Additionally the multifunctional table 10 has a computer control unit 45integrated into the table. Computer control unit as defined herecomprises a central processing unit CPU, at least one fast access massstorage units, such as a hard drive or flash memory, and memory. Thecomputer control unit also has connections for connecting the computerwith the other devices incorporated within the table, such as but notlimited to the fast acting controllers 25 and graphical display screen30. The fast acting storage unit allows for video games, order takingprograms and the like to be stored at each individual table. Thecomputer is networkable and the network can be wireless. Computer asused herein is defined as a unit comprising: a central processing unit,memory, mass storage device, input device and output device. The centralprocessing unit is the heart of the computer, the component thatactually executes instructions, an example of which is a Pentium IIIchip by Intel. Memory enables a computer to store, at least temporarily,data and programs. An example of memory is random access memory or RAMand read only memory or ROM. A mass storage device allows a computer topermanently retain large amounts of data. Common mass storage devicesinclude disk drives, tape drives and hard drives. Input device is theconduit through which data and instructions enter a computer. Examplesof input devices are keyboards, a mouse or a controller. An outputdevice lets one see what the computer has accomplished. Examples ofoutput devices include display screens and printers. In one embodimentan exhaust fan vent 95 is located within the base 20. The advantage ofthis type of system is that an establishment can initially buy just onetable for trial purposes and if it works well other tables can be addedand each table can be set up individually or as network.

In another embodiment of the invention the table 10 also has a meansaccepting payment 50 where the means for accepting payment is selectedfrom the group consisting of: bill acceptors, coin acceptors, tokenacceptors, credit card acceptors, debit card acceptors and giftcertificate acceptors. The multifunctional table's 10 means foraccepting payment can be located in the table top, or the base, or boththe base and the table top. In FIG. 1 shows one embodiment with a cardreader 65 in the table top 15. In another embodiment two card readerscan be deployed each in a chamfered edge where it is readily accessibleby two patrons simultaneously. In another embodiment the table can befitted with a bill acceptor, a coin acceptor, a token acceptor or anycombination thereof. FIG. 1 shows one embodiment with a means foraccepting payment positioned behind a security cash door 70 located inthe column 75 which is positioned behind where the face 80 of the meansfor accepting payment is located within the security door 70.

In another embodiment of the invention the table 10, the computercontrol unit can be connected to a printer that is integral to thetable. For this type of application any type of printer can be used.Example include thermal, dot matrix, ink-jet, laser. This feature couldprovide a patron with a receipt of payment after payment is tendered tothe table.

In order to facilitate mobility, the multifunctional table 10, in oneembodiment, has lockable casters 60 mounted to the base. These castersallow the tables to be easily wheeled to any location within anestablishment. Additionally, when the batteries in the table 10 need acharge the table can be wheeled to an outlet or charging room thenwheeled back into operation.

The fast acting flush mount controller 25, FIG. 2, is comprised of anupper retaining ring 85, FIG. 3, an elastomeric polymer backed plasticsheet 90, a plurality of arcade style pushbutton switches 95 and a lowerswitch support member 100. The elastomeric polymer backed plastic sheetin one embodiment has graphics printed on them to facilitate use. Thelower switch support member may be a molding as shown in FIG. 3, or itmay be an integral part of the table. Where the lower switch supportmember 100 is adapted to accept the plurality of arcade style pushbuttonswitches 95 which are overlaid with the elastomeric polymer backedgraphically printed plastic sheet 90 which is connected with a sealantto said upper retaining ring 85. Examples of the arcade style pushbuttoncontroller is a “HAPPS” top of the line Arcade Pushbutton with “cherry”brand microswitch, or a leaf switch pushbutton with a leaf switch buttonbase, both available from Centsible Amusements atwww.centsibleamusements.com.

In one of the embodiments of the present invention each sitting positionmay have a plurality of flush mount controllers, FIG. 2, 205 and 210.This feature is useful if the table is equipped with advanced videogames in many cases a single control may be insufficient to control bothmovements and operations (such as firing) which may have to be donesimultaneously dependant on the speed of the game.

In operation the multifunction table is capable of performing severalfunctions. It can be used by patrons of an establishment to place foodand drink orders as well as provides options for the patrons at thetable to pay for the order through use of credit cards or by insertingthe money into the table. The table also can provide pay for playentertainment as video games, trivia, videos, music and other types ofentertainment or information. It is also possible for an establishmentto choose to only provide some of these services while leaving othersinactive. The pay for play feature provides an additional revenue sourcefor say a restaurant which can charge for video games as well as foodand beverage.

Referring now to FIG. 4, the multifunction table's graphical menu system105 allows patrons to play games, order food or drinks, review theirbill, and pay for all charges they may have occurred. The menu system105 can adjust its orientation in predetermined increments, based on theshape and layout of the table, to appear upright for any patron 110 whotouches their respective controller 25 while none of the othercontrollers 25 are currently activated. With a table of theconfiguration found in FIG. 4, the adjustment may be in 90-degreeincrements. The menu system 105 permits other patrons to change thevisual orientation by pressing their dedicated fast acting controller 25at any time after a software timer has elapsed and provided that noother controllers 25 are active. The current position within the menusystem 105 for any patron 110 is indicated by a cursor 115 thathighlights a predetermined graphical area on the graphical displayscreen 30.

In operation the first patron 110 to touch the appropriate controller190 will have the menu oriented to be readable to that patron as shownin FIG. 4. The system for orientation and control of the graphicaldisplay screen comprises a graphical display screen, a computer controlunit connected to the graphical display screen 30, a plurality ofcontrollers 25 connected to said computer control unit 45, a firstalgorithm capable of changing an orientation of the graphical displayscreen based on an input from a controller where the first algorithm isstored within the computer control unit 45. Orientation of the graphicaldisplay screen is controlled by the first patron selecting theorientation through a controller by activating the first algorithm. Asubsequent patron 195 can change the orientation of the graphicaldisplay screen through another controller 200 by activating said firstalgorithm.

In one of the embodiments of the present invention the patron which hasselected the orientation of the graphical display screen has apredetermined amount of time in which to take an action, such aschoosing one of the displayed menus. This system for orientation andcontrol of the graphical display screen further comprises a secondalgorithm capable of controlling order and duration of inputs from acontroller where said second algorithm is stored within said computercontrol unit. The first patron selecting the orientation of saidgraphical display screen controls both the orientation and duration oftime that patron has to choose from the menu options. When this patronuses the controller to activating the first algorithm they are given apredetermined time by a second algorithm, also stored in the computercontrol unit, in which to take an action. Any subsequent patron mustwait the predetermined time before change the orientation of saidgraphical display screen or take an action through input to acontroller. If that patron takes no action the table will rotate themenu to another patron who has requested the menu or it will cycle in apredetermined pattern until a patron requests it by the use of thecontroller. If no requests are made by patrons the table is capable ofcycling ads, screen savers, announcements or the like or the table cango into a sleep mode until it is called again. The subroutines relatedto orientation are set forth in FIG. 6.

Each table unit can be embedded with a wireless network node to allowmultiple tables to play games and communicate with one another, over asingle location's 165 local wireless network 125. As shown in FIG. 5,multiple tables 130 and 135 are free to communicate with each other viaa wireless transmission 145. Each table can also transmit order andpayment information 150 to a location's point of sale (POS) system 140for the recording of such information. A separate computer or printercan replace a POS system 140 to record all table transactions in theevent an establishment does not have such a system. Tables 155 and 160in another location 170 running its own local wireless network 175 andPOS system 180 can communicate with the tables 130 and 135 located in aseparate location via a wide area network and the Internet 185 toprovide a multi-location game and communication network between alltables. For security reasons, the recording of table order and paymentinformation is generally reserved for the local POS system in which thetables are located. Software and hardware encryption schemes can be usedto protect the information being transferred.

In another embodiment of the invention the multifunctional table 10 maybe configured with multiple smaller individual graphical display screens120, FIG. 7 each with their own fast acting controllers 25. Thisconfiguration allows each patron 110 to play their own video game or tosimultaneously perform independent tasks such as ordering and playing apay for play video game.

Another embodiment of the invention is a multifunction table having abase, a table top having a flush surface, where the table top isattached to the base. The table top has individual flush mountedcontrollers. These controllers may be of a conventional touch type orthey may be the fast acting controllers 25 described above. Thisembodiment has a graphical display screen mounted to maintain the flushsurface of the table, and is controlled by the flush mountedcontrollers. This embodiment may have either a large graphical display30 screen or small individual graphical display screens 120 eachcontrolled by individual flush mounted controllers. This embodiment hasa networkable computer integrated into the table. This embodiment canalso have a rechargeable battery operated power source and a rechargingdevice where the rechargeable battery operated power source and therecharging device are located within the base of the table. Thisembodiment may also have any of the other features described aboveincluding a means for accepting payment, a printer, lockable casters andmutiple controller means for each seating position.

Another embodiment of the invention is a multifunction table having abase, a table top having a flush surface, where the table top isattached to the base. The table top has individual flush mountedcontrollers. These controllers may be of a conventional touch type orthey may be the fast acting controllers 25 described above. Thisembodiment has a graphical display screen mounted to maintain the flushsurface of the table, and is controlled by the flush mountedcontrollers. This embodiment may have either a large graphical display30 screen or small individual graphical display screens 120 eachcontrolled by individual flush mounted controllers. This embodiment hasa rechargeable battery operated power source, mounted within the base.This embodiment can also have a recharging device where the rechargingdevice is located within the base of the table. This embodiment may alsohave any of the other features described above including a means foraccepting payment, a printer, networkable computer, lockable casters andmultiple controller means for each seating position.

The invented table can also be set up so that even if it has one largemonitor as shown in FIG. 2, it could be configured so that the monitoris divided into 4 quadrants as shown in FIG. 4, but each of thosequadrents are oriented to be viewable to the patron seated at thatposition. This configuration allows more than one person to order at thesame time, or that each person at the table could play a game, such astrivia, at the same time.

1. A multifunction table comprising: a base; a table top having a flushsurface, said table top is attached to said base; said table top havingindividual flush mounted fast acting controllers, a graphical displayscreen mounted below said flush surface, controlled by said flushmounted fast acting controllers.
 2. The multifunctional table accordingto claim 1 further comprising a rechargeable battery operated powersource.
 3. The multifunctional table according to claim 2 where arecharging device is located within the base of said table.
 4. Themultifunctional table according to claim 1 further comprising a computerintegrated into said base.
 5. The multifunctional table according toclaim 4 where said computer is networkable.
 6. The multifunctional tableaccording to claim 5 where said computers are networkable by wirelessmeans.
 7. The multifunctional table according to claim 1 furthercomprising a means for accepting payment.
 8. The multifunctional tableaccording to claim 7 where said means for accepting payment is selectedfrom the group consisting of: bill acceptors, coin acceptors, tokenacceptors, credit card acceptors, debit card acceptors and giftcertificate acceptors.
 9. The multifunctional table according to claim 7where said means for accepting payment is located in the table top, orthe base, or both the base and the table top.
 10. The multifunctionaltable according to claim 1 further comprising lockable casters mountedto said base.
 11. The multifunctional table according to claim 1 furthercomprising means for electronically controlling the orientation of saidgraphical display screen.
 12. The multifunctional table according toclaim 1 further comprising a plurality of graphical display screens eachwith and individual fast acting controller.
 13. The multifunctionaltable according to claim 4 further comprising a printer in communicationwith said computer, where said printer is integral with saidmultifunctional table.
 14. A multifunction table comprising: a base; atable top having a flush surface, said table top is attached to saidbase; said table top having individual flush mounted controllers, agraphical display screen mounted below said flush surface, controlled bysaid flush mounted controllers; and a rechargeable battery operatedpower source, mounted within said base.
 15. The multifunctional tableaccording to claim 14 where a recharging device is located within thebase of said table.
 16. A multifunction table comprising: a base; atable top having a flush surface, said table top is attached to saidbase; said table top having individual flush mounted controllers, agraphical display screen mounted to maintain said flush surface,controlled by said flush mounted controllers; a networkable computerintegrated into said table.
 17. The multifunctional table according toclaim 16 further comprising: a rechargeable battery operated powersource; a recharging device; where said rechargeable battery operatedpower source and said recharging device is located within the base ofsaid table.
 18. A fast acting flush mount controllers comprising: anupper retaining ring; an elastomeric polymer backed plastic sheet; aplurality of arcade style pushbutton switches; a lower switch supportmember; and where said lower switch support member is adapted to acceptsaid plurality of arcade style pushbutton switches which are overlaidwith said elastomeric polymer backed plastic sheet which is connectedwith a sealant to said upper retaining ring.
 19. A fast acting flushmount controllers according to claim 18 where said elastomeric polymerbacked plastic sheet is graphically printed.
 20. A system for providinginformation and entertainment to patrons comprising the steps of:providing a plurality of interactive multifunctional tables where eachinteractive table contains a networkable computer; providing acommunication network for transferring data; and connecting saidplurality of interactive multifunctional tables to said communicationnetwork through peer to peer network connections.
 21. The system forproviding information and entertainment to patrons according to claim 20further comprising the steps of: providing a point of sales terminalwhere said point of sales terminal is networkable; and connecting saidpoint of sales terminal to said communication network and said pluralityof interactive multifunctional tables through peer to peer networkconnections.
 22. A system for orientation and control of a graphicaldisplay screen for a plurality of patrons comprising the steps of:providing a graphical display screen providing a computer control unitconnected to said graphical display screen; providing a plurality ofcontrollers connected to said computer control unit; providing a firstalgorithm capable of changing an orientation of the graphical displayscreen based on an input from a controller where said first algorithm isstored within said computer control unit; and controlling theorientation of said graphical display screen by a first patron selectingthe orientation of said graphical display screen through a controller byactivating said first algorithm and where a subsequent patron can changethe orientation of said graphical display screen through anothercontroller by activating said first algorithm.
 23. The system fororientation and control of a graphical display screen according to claim22 further comprising the steps of: providing a second algorithm capableof controlling order and duration of inputs from a controller where saidsecond algorithm is stored within said computer control unit;controlling the orientation of said graphical display screen by a firstpatron selecting the orientation of said graphical display screenthrough a controller by activating said first algorithm and being givena predetermined time by said computer control unit and said secondalgorithm in which to take an action; and waiting said predeterminedtime before a subsequent patron can change the orientation of saidgraphical display screen or take an action through input to acontroller.